Voters came to David's Cafe on South Beach hoping to hear the candidates for State House District 107 debate about taxes, insurance and education.

But to get to the issues at the bottom of the contentious race, those who attended the half-hour session Tuesday morning had to cut through accusations of illegal homestead exemptions, unethical campaign tactics and ties to special interests.

''Everything we're getting from the other side are insults, lies and half truths,'' said Democratic incumbent Luis Garcia Jr., who was elected in 2006.

Countered Republican challenger Jorge Luis López: ``He doesn't understand the laws. He makes statements that are not even half truths.''

Garcia and López are vying for a district that meanders through South Beach, Key Biscayne and parts of Coconut Grove, Overtown, Little Havana Coral Gables and South Miami-Dade.

The two have been sparring for months, with Garcia painting López as a county hall lobbyist beholden to his clients and López calling Garcia an ineffective legislator.

On Tuesday, López pointed to Garcia's House Bill 1, which eventually led to the state giving $1.2 million to Alan Crotzer, a man falsely imprisoned 24 years for two rapes he didn't commit.

The bill was noble, López said, but didn't have anything to do with improving the quality of life for district residents.

''What was not Bill 1 was education,'' López said. ``What was not Bill 1 was healthcare. What was not Bill 1 was money for beach erosion. It's a question of priority.''

Garcia said he has been effective, helping to secure funding for a Key Biscayne water and sewer project and for a new Miami Beach Senior High.

Garcia also took López to task for his work lobbying for Florida Power & Light and said the candidate had sent out literature that twisted Garcia's voting record.

López in turn accused Garcia of taking an illegal homestead exemption in 2007 on his Miami Beach condo, which is outside the district, while at the same time claiming to live in a home in the Roads section of Miami in order to meet residency requirements for office.

''He's cheated Miami Beach out of his own taxes that he hasn't paid,'' López said.

Garcia's 2007 homestead exemption was renewed automatically by the property appraiser's office. López said Garcia should have notified officials when he moved but didn't in order to save money on his property taxes.

Garcia no longer holds an exemption on the property and his campaign said the charge is simply last-minute mud-slinging.

The county's property appraiser is investigating Garcia's 2007 exemption, prompted by questions raised during campaign.

The attacks from both sides drew disgust from some in the audience tired of negative campaign tactics and a plea from moderator David Kelsey.

''Let's try to keep the personal attacks between both of you to a minimum and see if we can't focus on what you're going to be doing in a positive nature if you're elected,'' he said.

López said he isn't afraid to vote against his Republican colleagues and would trim government fat by reviewing agencies, taxes and tax exemptions in order to weed out programs and policies that are ineffective.

''The reality is all agencies, all funding sources, and this year in particular in the Florida Legislature, everything should be on the table,'' he said.

He also said the state should mandate that counties and cities act responsibly by placing uniform standards throughout Florida.

Garcia highlighted the bills he has pushed, such as one that cuts through red tape in order to immediately test for HIV when an emergency responder is exposed to the virus.

He also said he would curb corruption in the county by proposing to do away with Miami-Dade County's charter, which he said is the only one of its kind in the state.

''They can get away with things that other counties probably can't get away with,'' he said.

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